July 29, 2010

Mainly because they're cooking up bullshit reasons why he won't be allowed to speak there...

The university previously argued that the timing of Rove's appearance for the upcoming school year could imperil its 501(c)(3) tax status.

"The timing of this event is problematic given the campaign cycle," Kimberly A. Moore, director of student affairs and Greek affairs, told students in an e-mail. "Loyola has to maintain impartiality in order to protect our tax-exempt status."

The article notes that they're letting some no-name Obama appointee from "the White House interfaith council" (yawn) speak on campus, but that's really nothing major compared to this:

Conservative students point out that the school has hosted partisan speakers on election years before. In September 2004, the school hosted Howard Dean, who ran for president that year. A couple of weeks after his speech, political activist Ralph Nader, who also ran for president that year, spoke on campus -- a speech that was advertised as a campaign event in which donations were solicited.

But neither of those events were a threat to the school's tax status, whereas Rove (who the article notes isn't even working on any campaigns this year) appearing on campus would be a big problem. Yeah.

I honestly would have a lot more respect for these douchebags if they would come right out and just say that they didn't want someone like Rove delivering a speech on their campus because they disagreed with his political views. At least that would be honest, but I guess that's a little too much to ask for. Surprise, surprise.

Update: Now that I think of it, though they probably don't like Karl Rove, maybe they are worried about their tax status. This is Barry and Rahm's home turf, after all.

"Wouldn't want anything to happen to this nice university you've got here that would raise your taxes, would you?"